China issues final monopoly regulation for internet industry



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China on Sunday unveiled the official version of rules designed to stamp out monopoly practices in the internet industry, after asking for comments on the draft guidelines for the first time since November last year.

The The rules will take effect immediately, according to a statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation, the country’s antitrust watchdog.

The regulation will limit anti-competitive behavior such as sharing sensitive consumer data, forming alliances that crowd out smaller competitors and subsidizing lower-cost services to eliminate competitors, the regulator said.

Read more: China’s crackdown on big tech puts more billionaires on alert

The Chinese Politburo, the main decision-making body of the Communist Party, has promised meeting at the end of last year to strengthen anti-monopoly efforts in 2021. Less than two weeks after the meeting, China launched a investigation about Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for allegedly monopolistic practices.

Competition lawsuits have been brought by companies even as regulators prepare to step up their scrutiny. ByteDance Ltd. filed a complaint last week against Tencent Holdings Ltd. over alleged monopolies on its WeChat and QQ platforms, escalating a feud between two Chinese social media giants. A Beijing court has agreed to hear the case, a ByteDance representative confirmed on Sunday.

– With the help of Jessica Sui, Zheping Huang and Coco Liu

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